Quietly Loud
by LadySloth
Summary: Steve has never heard Tony speak. Well, not to him personally, at least. Not that Tony ever shuts up, of course. Mute!Tony. Always complete. Series of One Shots. Possibly Two Shots. AU.
1. He never shuts up, does he?

**AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH HHHH I didn't really want to post this because I'm horrible but my BFF had a bad day and I want to make it better and writing is a way to do that so DEDICATED TO YOU, DOGZRULE333. ILU.**

**In other news, I haven't posted on since last year. Damn.**

**I do not own Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, SHIELD, or any combination thereof.**

* * *

Steve had rarely seen Tony's face in person, seeing as during the whole Loki fiasco he had rarely taken off his Iron Man armor. Tony's excuse being; "It's more comfortable in here. Plus, I don't actually have to see Fury's face. It's filtered. With options for CGing make up and pink hair with sparkles. Much more entertaining than real life." Steve had taken that as a means to not really trust Tony. Ever. He was simply too irresponsible.

When the face plate had come off, Tony refused to speak, it seemed. Just made facial expressions and vague hand gestures to get his point across before returning the face plate to it's original place. He hadn't offered an excuse for that, and Steve hadn't asked. Honestly, Steve had been thinking that it was a lost cause, so why bother?

Steve hadn't read Tony's file very well, just skimmed through it and watched a few old clips of him talking. Steve had heard enough to know that Tony was a wise ass and arrogant. Both traits which were not very good for teamwork. But Fury saw something in Tony, and if Steve looked close enough, he could sort-of see it too, but it was difficult. Like he was trying to look through fogged up glass.

But now the whole ordeal with Loki was over, and they had opted for spending time in Stark Towers while Thor made transportation arrangements from New Mexico.

One floor of the building was damaged, not all of them. There was still plenty of living space, just on a different, not-as-impressive floor. Soon, they had a routine. Natasha and Clint would be up first, doing stretches and sorting out their weapons. Steve and Bruce would be next, one would start the coffee or the tea and the other would cook breakfast. Tony would be last; opting for walking in, taking his cup of coffee, grabbing some food, and vanishing down into the depths of his workshop.

Steve found it strange that no one else found it odd that the man never spoke. Not once. Not even to return the odd "Good morning". Tony just nodded to show that he had heard, and then he'd go downstairs. Steve also found it odd that the man wore turtlenecks in the middle of summer. Tony Stark was just full of oddities.

Today was different, however, as Fury had requested Natasha and Clint for something he wouldn't say, and Bruce had decided that some of his research was too risky for Stark Towers, and therefore needed to be conducted at SHIELD HQ.

This left Steve alone with Tony, which was incredibly awkward.

Sighing, Steve started breakfast in preparation for when Tony staggered in. Just as he finished, true to his prediction, Tony staggered in. Steve heard a sigh as Tony realized that there was no coffee, but didn't turn around, as he was making another omelette for himself.

"Good Morning." Steve said cordially, nodding. To his surprise, Tony patted his arm three times as he walked past. Blinking, Steve turned his head and caught a glimpse of Tony's barefooted, retreating figure as Tony grabbed a plate and plopped down on the couch. Something was off, and Steve chewed it over in his head while he tried to figure it out, finishing up his omelette at the same time, before realizing what it was.

Tony was wearing a wife beater, not a turtleneck. Vaguely, Steve worried that Tony might get cold, although he didn't seem bothered at all.

It was unusually quiet, though, and that openly bothered Steve. He hadn't figured Tony was this quiet normally. Maybe he had really offended him in some way. Steve wasn't sure, and that bothered him. He couldn't fix it if he didn't know what had gone wrong, and he wanted to get along with Tony, he really did, it was just so...difficult.

Grabbing his plate, he made his way to the chair the was across from the couch. Walking by, he stole a glance in Tony's general direction, intending only to look at whatever it was Tony was working on. He hadn't expected to see a giant, jagged mass of scar tissue running along the top of Tony's throat-as if someone had tried to slit it.

It was surprising enough that Steve dropped everything he was holding to the floor. Tony jerked up, staring at Steve in a sort of annoyed confusion. Then he realized where Steve was looking. Touching the scar on his neck gently, Tony raised an eyebrow at Steve, a sort of morbid amusement written across his face.

"T-Tony...Oh my God what-?" Steve started, unable to look away. He was warring between concern and anger. Concern because, well, _someone had tried to slit Tony's throat_. Anger because, obviously, _someone had tried to end Tony's life_. As angry as Tony appeared to be with him, as rocky as their nonexistent friendship was, that was completely unacceptable.

Tony blinked in confusion before understanding dawned on him, and gave Steve a look that clearly stated '_Are you fucking serious? Do I have to do everything around here?_' before typing away at the device in his hand and drawing up his own file and handing it to Steve, at the same time guiding him to sit down in a chair. Impatiently, he pointed to the section Steve had skipped over, highlighting a section and tapping twice.

"Tony Stark, while being held as a POW in Afghanistan, had surgery performed on his vocal cords in an unsterilized environment." JARVIS' clipped, British voice announced, just in case Steve was too caught up to actually read, "Chance of recovery is 0%. Any interacting with him must be advised to know American Sign Language (ASL). Can talk through the Iron Man suit using facial recognition technology. Other medical information includes-" JARVIS halted, motioned by Tony's hand sweeping in a wide arc through the air to stop.

Steve's eyes were still focused on the tablet in his hands as he mentally berated himself for not noticing sooner. This was vital information! On a battlefield, not knowing this could have seriously endangered not only Tony, but the rest of the team as well. If that had happened, Steve would have had no one to blame but himself. An impatient rap on the top of his head, much like how someone would knock on a door, drew his attention back to Tony, who was looking rather agitated.

Steve's eyes were drawn to movement, which turned out to be Tony's hands rapidly moving in an attempt to communicate. Luckily for Steve, one of the first few things he had learned upon waking up was different languages; ASL being one of them. Blinking the shock out of his eyes, he focused. Tony's hands stopped as Tony realized that Steve was paying attention now, and restarted.

'_They told me that if I screamed too loud, they would cut out my vocal_ _cords._' Tony tried to explain, his posture stiff. '_I screamed too loud, they followed through._' Tony finished, looking awkward. As if he didn't know why he had just tried to explain what had happened, but didn't really regret it, either. Steve felt a cold horror unfolding in his chest at the thought of what Tony must have gone through to make him scream at all. It froze the anger and strengthened the concern. His teammate had gone through torture. He had known, but suddenly it seemed all the more real.

None of the Avengers had good pasts, but Steve had seen how well off Tony was and the information of Afghanistan seemed so unreal. But it was. It was terrifyingly real. Steve just hadn't prepared himself for that knowledge, the result being the tumult of emotions he was feeling now.

Then Tony looked up, his eyes catching Steve's, and his expression lit up to something more relaxed from its previous awkwardness.

'_I cannot believe you skimmed that over._' Tony quipped, sporting a shit-eating grin. '_And after all of that talk about responsibility. Slipping in our old age, are we, ice?_'

"Sorry...Ice? I don't-no, don't give me that look Tony. I know it's easier to have nicknames in ASL as opposed to spelling them out, but...Ice? Why Ice? I understand that I was frozen, but..."

'_There is no sign for c-a-p-s-i-c-l-e._' Tony interrupted, frowning impatiently and wearing an expression that added '_Are you an idiot?_' without Tony having to sign it. Steve sighed and rubbed his forehead. The explanation had made even less sense than the original statement. Ultimately, Steve decided that Tony could have chosen a lot worse.

During the small lapse it took for Steve to make that decision, he noticed that Tony kept _moving_; his foot shifted, his toes dug into the carpet, his fingers drummed on the side of his leg, his eyes glancing from Steve to the tablet to the ceiling and back to Steve, his neck stretching from side to side as it popped softly, his shoulders rolling as he fought to keep at least a little still, etc. The effects of Tony's constant movement, constant _vigor_, was slowly muting the horror and concern into bearable levels, and Steve was in control again. Steve felt like an idiot for not realizing sooner; Tony was never _quiet_. Steve just hadn't listened.

"And here I thought you were too quiet." he murmured, shaking his head. Tony's head did a quick shake and his face gathered a fond lopsided smile.

'_No, you were speaking the wrong language. It's fine, though._' Tony supplied, sitting down on the couch again. '_Green and Pepper tell me that once you know how to talk to me, I never shut up. But now that you can, any reason you've been avoiding me like the plague?_' he asked, his head tilting to the side and eyebrows scrunching together.

"I didn't mean to-Tony, you have to understand, I thought you were angry with me." Steve explained, looking embarrassed. He was going to assume that Green meant Bruce, while Pepper was obvious. Tony didn't need to sign what he thought about that; it was clear on his face and in his posture.

'_If I was angry, you would have known. You are an idiot. Stop being stupid. I'm bored, let's do something else._' And finally, with a glance down at the mess Steve had made on the floor, looked back up to convey with a very clear facial expression; '_You're cleaning that up._'

Steve couldn't help it; he laughed. He had never met someone so expressive before. It was refreshing, to have someone so talkative that didn't hurt his ears. A paradox, yes, but it was Tony Stark, and he was always creating paradoxes.

'_What?_' Tony's eyebrows raised and his head tilted. '_What on earth are you laughing about?_'

"I'm sorry." Steve paused, swallowing the remaining laughter. "I just...you really do never stop talking."

Tony's shoulders shook and the breath hissed through his teeth as he let out a silent laugh.

'_I told you so._'

"So what are you working on?" Steve asked in an attempt to make up for not talking with Tony at all since the Loki incident. He had talked _to_ Tony, yes, but not _with_ him. Frowning and holding up the tablet in his hands, he found out that he could not figure out how to make it go back to the page it had been on. Tony's hand plucked it out of his fingers and returned it to a page full of schematics, numbers, and codes. Steve still had no idea what it was. Tony sat back down and set the Tablet to his side.

'_I'm working on an update to the A-r-c R-e-a-c-t-o-r_' Tony frowned at having to spell it out. '_Spelling it out takes too long._' his expression supplied while he signed '_I just call it my battery._'

"An update? Is something wrong?" Steve leaned forward. If something was wrong with Tony's Arc Reactor, then he would have to call Bruce back to help, because he didn't understand all the technology of current times, and Tony's technology was beyond current times.

'_No, Ice, calm down. I just think it can work better if I make a few changes._' Tony explained, his face adding '_You have gotten way too paranoid._' for good measure.

Steve paused, letting the information sink in before nodding. Tony's face portrayed his impatience, and his bouncing knee let it be known that he wanted to go do something as opposed to sitting.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you from your work." Steve sighed, standing up and scratching the back of his head.

'_It's okay._' Tony shrugged, '_We needed to have this little talk anyways._' Tony stood up as well, stretching out the kinks in his back. '_Don't forget to clean up your mess!_' he added, before picking up his tablet and walking towards the elevator.

As Tony stepped into the elevator and turned around, his posture softened, and his face read '_You're welcome to come down. I wouldn't mind the company._'

Steve nodded, already bending down to pick up the broken pieces of the plate.

"I'll be down in a bit." He supplied as the elevator doors shut, his lips quirking into a small smile. Maybe there was hope for them working as a team after all, now that Steve was actually paying attention.


	2. He never shuts up, does he? 2

**Aaaaaaand it's a two shot now~! So much fun. This one is a little more humorous than the last one. I also listened to The Egg and I from Cowboy Bebop on repeat for this.**

**Dogzrule333, do you feel better, yet? ILU. SO MUCH.**

**I also love the reviewers. To you guys, ALL THE FEELS. I also love the followers, the favers, my dog, my cat, my car, the rain, fdljsak;dsjafdl;jafd...**

**I do not own, I merely drool.**

* * *

Bruce walked into the the living area of Stark Towers around dinner time, sighing as he went towards his rooms. The experiment...hadn't gone very well, to say the very, _very_ least. One shut down tower and five hulk-outs later, Bruce had gone home wearing borrowed scrubs. It was likely that if he had any intention of letting Tony see him in these particular scrubs (hot pink with Hello Kitty), Tony would collapse from laughing so hard. If he listened hard enough, Bruce could swear he heard Hulk snickering at him from the back of his head.

"Steve?" Bruce called after he was finished changing, walking through the living area again. Hearing no answer, he assumed Steve must have left at some point.

Bruce didn't know why, but it seemed as though Steve had a hard time interacting with Tony. Maybe the thought of being mute frightened the good Captain, he honestly couldn't say. Bruce tried not to let it bother him too much, but he could tell that Hulk didn't like it at all. Hulk may not have been able to understand sign language very well, but that didn't stop him from understanding Tony-speak. Occasionally, Bruce found he would have to refer to the beast in the back of his head to understand Tony sometimes.

Needless to say, Hulk thought he was an idiot for _not_ understanding Tony's facial expression for '_I want ice cream with chocolate chips and strawberry sauce. That sounds really good-hey is that about to explode?_', and Bruce thought it was a tad creepy that Hulk _could_ understand that.

Bruce shook his head and rubbed his eyes, dredging himself up from his thoughts. It had been a long day. A very long day, and he needed some math and possibly a conversation that was likely to make absolutely no sense with Tony.

Bruce walked into the elevator and leaned against the wall as it started down towards the workshop.

"Jarvis?" he asked, thinking back on all of the security cameras.

"Yes, Master Bruce?" JARVIS asked, his voice betraying nothing.

"Did Tony already see the scrubs?" Bruce sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. This was guaranteed to be humiliating.

"No, Master Bruce. Sir is currently attempting to explain the basics of the Arc Reactor to Master Steve in Workshop 2B, and I thought it best not to have that sort of distraction." JARVIS supplied, sounding, if at all possible, vaguely amused.

"Oh. Well. Thanks, Jarvis. Any chance you could delete...?"

"I fear not, Master Bruce."

"Damn."

The elevator dinged as they arrived at the designated floor. Bruce heaved himself up from the wall and walked towards 2B, curious as to why Tony would be trying to teach Arc Reactor 101 to Steve.

"Tony, I don't understand what you're trying to tell me." Steve's slightly flustered and extremely confused voice stopped Bruce just outside the door.

"That doesn't explain anything! You're just waving around your hand now, that's not even signing!"

"..."

"No-don't-stop giving me that look! I am _not_ an idiot! I just have _absolutely no idea_ what you are trying to do."

"..."

"...Tony..."

"..."

"...Tony, I have difficulty using the remote for the TV, what makes you think I'm going to know what those numbers mean?"

"...Tch."

"Did you just make a noise at me?"

"..."

"Tony, _please_ stop looking at me like that. Look, if you would just put down the tablet and-why are you getting on the table? Tony what-oh God, your Reactor! Why would you take that out? Put that back this instant!"

"..."

"No! Don't give it to me, I have no idea how to put it back!"

"..."

"What do you mean push and twist? What-Tony? Shit. Fine."

There was a hissing and clicking noise as Steve attempted to follow the minimal directions, and a sharp intake of air as Tony's heart went back to a regular pace.

"There were less extreme ways to show me how to do that, and you know it."

"..."

"_Fun_? I'm sorry, did you just say _fun_? That was not _fun_, that was...that was just _sadistic_ of you."

Bruce chose that particular moment to interfere.

"Tony, stop scaring Steve." he ordered as he walked into the Workshop.

'_I wasn't trying to scare him, Green, I was trying to show him how to reconnect the Battery!_' Tony signed from his sitting position on a table, looking agitated and amused at the same time. '_He wasn't getting it, so I figured a more hands-on approach would work better for him._'

Steve huffed, still looking shaken, and sat down on one of the benches.

Bruce nodded, looking completely unconvinced.

"And I suppose you exhausted all other means of letting Steve know how to go about it?" he asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

'_Of course. I showed him the math, I tried explaining, I drew pictures-_'

"Did you show him the security footage of someone actually switching out your Reactor?" Bruce interrupted, cocking his head to the side.

Tony's eyes looked at the floor and his cheeks puffed slightly out, his expression supplying the answer as his foot scuffed the ground lightly.

'_Notreally,no._'

"Then no, you did not exhaust all other options." Bruce admonished, shaking his head. Then another thought occurred to him. "Why were you trying to show him how to replace your reactor, anyways?"

"That was my fault, actually." Steve admitted, looking flustered. Bruce turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

'_Yeah. He started it!_' Tony added, throwing a mock glare at the Captain for good measure.

"Steve?" Bruce asked, trying so hard not to laugh. Honestly! It was like catching two children doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

"I asked him how the Arc Reactor was replaced, since it would be a good idea to know in case of an emergency." Steve explained, looking guilty. "I just wasn't expecting him to _rip it out of his chest_." he added, glaring at Tony disapprovingly.

'_Don't go pointing at me, Ice._' Tony's grinning expression said as he shrugged, '_I am totally not to blame here._'

Bruce opened his mouth to translate, seeing as Tony hadn't actually signed any of that, but was surprised by Steve.

"Don't give me that! You could have shown me security footage, like Bruce said! Don't you dare try to shirk this off on me, Tony!" Steve objected, looking offended and, oddly enough, amused.

Bruce stared at Steve as he continued to bicker with Tony, even though half of Tony's conversation wasn't signed at all. In the back of his mind, he felt the Hulk approve. Steve was no longer avoiding Tony; if anything, the two had become friends in the span of one day.

"So Steve got over whatever it was that was bothering him, then?" Bruce asked Tony as he went to pick up the notes for the Reactor upgrades.

'_Oh, he thought I was mad at him._' Tony answered, turning from a sulking Steve.

"...Why?" Bruce asked, looking a sheepish Steve. Then watched in complete confusion as Tony grinned sadistically at Steve and Steve turned a deeper shade of red.

'_Guess who didn't read my file all the way through?_'

"...Oh, _Steve_. You had _no idea_, did you?"

"I just...I'd read so much and I was getting tired so I thought; hey, skimming over his medical information shouldn't be that bad, so long as I read the warning signs." Steve mumbled, burying his face into his hands. "I'm so sorry, I was being incredibly rude and-"

"Steve, it's fine. You know now, so-Tony. Stop playing with those chemicals." Bruce stopped, focusing on Tony playing with possibly explosive substances.

Tony glanced up and hurriedly placed them back in their original positions.

"Don't think I didn't see you." Bruce sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

'_But I know not to let them touch, I just wanted to see if they were hot or cold-_' Tony started, giving his best smile to disarm Bruce. It didn't work.

"No, that is not an excuse. Pay attention to the conversation."

Tony sat down, shoulders hunched in a perpetual sulk. '_Always ruining my fun. Why are you such a spoilsport? I was just looking..._' was written across his face.

"Now that that's over, Steve, would you mind helping us with this one bit of machinery we can't get to work? There's this bolt that won't loosen up, and Thor and Hulk are too strong, they'll break it." Bruce asked Steve, deciding to give him a reprieve from the embarrassment he must have been feeling. The rest of the team would give him a hard time as it was. Bruce figured he had teased Steve enough.

In the back of his head, Hulk certainly didn't feel that way. But Bruce ignored that for now. Hulk wasn't angry with Steve, he just thought Steve was stupid, and wanted to shove that in his face, which was a major improvement.

"Sure." Steve sighed, sounding incredibly relieved that the minor interrogation was over. "I'll try my best."

Tony placed a hand on Steve's shoulder to get his attention, Tony's face wearing a concerned mask.

'_Do we need to get you your reading glasses, Grandfather Ice, or can you actually read the instructions this time?_'

"Shut up, Tony!"


	3. Stop Stealing My Stuff!

**This is WWWWAAAAAAAAYYYYY too domestic. I might have some drama next chapter to even it out. This doesn't have a whole lot of one on one with Tony and Steve, it's a team interaction piece, mostly. I basically listened to Mushroom Hunting, Cats on Mars, the Egg and I, and Tank from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack.**

**I do not own any of the characters, just the ridiculously fluffy, domestic plotline they reside in for this one shot.**

* * *

"Tony, the Fruity Puffs are for everyone. You have to share."

'_No! You are staying in my tower, and I now demand you pay rent!_'

"Stop being ridiculous! Besides, those are Clint's, not mine, and you _need to share_."

Tony stepped back from Steve, grabbed the box of cereal, and clutched it close to his chest. His face was very clear on what he thought about sharing.

'_Come and take it._'

Steve sighed and rubbed his forehead, seriously considering doing just that. But if he did, then he would be falling to Tony's level of childishness. He already felt like half-way there just by arguing with him. That was when Clint and Natasha walked in, bags full of weapons slung over their shoulders hitting the ground next to the couch before they continued to the kitchen, where Steve and Tony were verbally sparring-not fighting-over the Fruity Puffs.

"How was your night?" Steve asked, smiling tightly.

"Boring. Hey Tony-no. Just no. Not the Fruity Puffs." Clint glowered, stepping towards Tony. Tony stepped back and glared.

'_I claim them as mine. You cannot have them._' he half-signed, half expressed, placing the table between them.

"Tony, will you please just give them back?" Steve moaned, running a hand through his hair.

"Ohhhh no, Cap. You ain't getting any either. _Those_ are _mine_." Clint quipped, leaping over the table in a graceful move and attempting to swipe the box from Tony. Tony rolled under the table and bolted for the elevator, almost running into Natasha along the way.

"Damn it, man! Give me my cereal!" Clint howled, leaping over the table again not quite so gracefully as last time and taking a few plates with him as he tried to get to the elevator before it closed. Tony stuck his tongue out as the doors shut before Clint could make it.

Not being daunted at all, Clint bolted to the freezer and yanked out...a crowbar.

"What...?" Steve started as Clint rushed past him and started trying to force the doors open.

"Clint, stop." Natasha sighed, shaking her head. "One, he doesn't have milk. Two, he doesn't even have the Fruity Puffs anymore. He has Cheerios." she added, holding up the box of Fruity Puffs. Clint abandoned his efforts in favor of pouring himself a bowl.

"Clint, why was there a _crowbar_ in the _freezer_?" Steve asked, even though something told him he really didn't want to know.

"In case I needed to use it, obviously." Clint supplied through a mouthful of cereal.

Steve frowned, tilting his head to the side and feeling a headache coming on. That...had made absolutely no sense.

"He also has a Napalm Blowtorch behind the mirror in one of the guest bathrooms." Natasha offered, relaxing on top of the kitchen island and reading the newspaper.

Steve couldn't find anything to respond to that. Nothing at all. Instead, he opted for sighing and gathering what he needed to make waffles. Which was just as well, because the elevator dinged and Tony stalked out, Bruce trailing tiredly behind him.

'_This is not my rent._' Tony signed after slamming the box of Cheerios on the table as though it was an insult to humankind. Then he pointed to the Fruity Puffs. '_That is._'

"Hah! Like you could evict me if you tried!" Clint crowed, grinning evilly.

Bruce shook his head and sat down across from Clint, picking up a slice of toast and buttering it.

"Steve, can I have some waffles too?" Bruce asked politely, at the same time watching the conversation between Tony and Clint wearily.

"No you wouldn't."

'_I would. I will post all over the internet pictures of you in a ridiculous outfit consisting of mostly purple and a feather-infested bird mask._'

"I'll tell Fury you were the one who decided to graffiti his office wall."

'_You wouldn't dare. I'll tell him you were the one who drew pictures of cats all over his mission reports._'

"Oh yeah? I'll tell Pepper _you_ were the one who broke her favorite vase."

Tony let out a soundless gasp, placing his hand over his Arc Reactor. Then his eyes narrowed, and he nodded grudgingly.

'_You win this time, Bird. You win this time._'

Clint shoved a huge helping of the cereal into his face as a reward to himself, Tony went to go sulk at Steve's shoulder, and Bruce buried his face in his hands in exasperation.

Mornings after Steve had found out that Tony wasn't ignoring him had been a bit more lively. It also turned out that Steve understood Tony-talk better than any of them (except Hulk), resulting in Tony usually being in the same area of the tower Steve was in.

"Bruce, do we have enough poptarts?" Natasha asked lazily from her position as she turned a page.

"I think so, yes." He hazard a guess, knowing they would probably still have to go out and buy some more in preparation for Thor's return.

"No, Tony, I'm not letting you put ice cream on your waffles." Steve sighed as Tony frowned.

'_But I want..._' Tony started, before looking at Steve's face and sighing, scuffing his foot on the floor. '_Fine..._'

"Ki~nd of creepy." Clint muttered, taking another bite of his cereal. Bruce looked up and raised an eyebrow. "How well Steve understands him. A few weeks ago, they weren't in the same room for more than six minutes at a time. Now..." he trailed off, nodding towards where it looked as though Steve was having a conversation with himself, because Tony was only signing half of what he meant.

Bruce smiled, taking a bite of his toast.

"I think it's nice." He said mildly, raising an eyebrow at Clint.

"...Are you getting jealous, Clint?"

Clint choked on his next spoonful of cereal, spraying it everywhere.

"Hmmm..." Bruce muttered ambiguously, setting down his cereal splattered toast and using the clean side of a napkin to wipe down his face.

"No! God, no! Bruce, what the Hell?" Clint coughed hoarsely, drawing the attention of Tony and Steve. Natasha, as usual, had been paying attention to everyone in the kitchen, and was still reading the newspaper, and so didn't care.

"Just a guess." Bruce smiled, folding his hands neatly in his lap.

"The Hell it was!" Clint hissed, picking up another spoonful of cereal, only to notice it had chunks of already chewed cereal and spit in it. "I've ruined my cereal. Thanks."

'_Poor Bird._' Tony signed as he sidled up beside Clint and leaned on his shoulder. '_Do I need to pay more attention to you?_'

"No." Clint said, edging away from Tony as best he could while still remaining in the chair. "No, you really don't."

'_J!_' Tony signed, calling JARVIS' attention as he stopped leaning on Clint and walked towards the elevator, picking up the crowbar and tucking it under his arm along the way.

"Yes Sir?"

'_Redecorate Bird's bedroom. Theme it after me._' Tony instructed as he stepped into the elevator and then started rapidly pushing the door close button with a manic smile on his face as Clint launched himself from the table.

"Of course, Sir." JARVIS said, sounding amused as the doors closed before Clint could get to Tony.

Clint attempted to grab the crowbar before remembering that Tony had it.

"_Damn_ it! Tony, I _swear_, I will tell Pepper _all about_ that damn vase-!" he started, only to be interrupted by Natasha.

"Clint, don't forget to clean up your mess."

"Natasha, what...?"

"The plates on the floor. Clean them up."

"But Tony-!"

"Clint, I would really appreciate it if you would clean up your mess." Bruce added in, making himself some more toast. Clint stared at them incredulously before hissing though his teeth and stalking over to the mess he had made earlier.

"_Stupid Tony. Always stealing my things. Messing up my room. Stupid. Stupid Natasha. Making me clean._"

Clint grumbled under his breath as he started picking up the plates and food-bits.

"What was that last bit?" Natasha asked as she went completely still.

"...Nothing."

Natasha turned another page.

"I thought so."


	4. Sometimes, Life Just Sucks

**SOOOO MUUUUUCH DRAAAMMMMAAAA. Sorry y'all, not a lot of humor in this one at all. I dramatized the shit out of it to balance out the ridiculous fluff of last chapter. What, you didn't think that Tony had no issues at all with being unable to use a voice, did you? **

**The music I listened to for this was Call Me Call Me (Cowboy Bebop), See You Space Cowboy (Cowboy Bebop), The Kids Aren't Alright (The Offspring), Times Running Out (Cirrus), Goodbye (SR-71), Ask DNA (Cowboy Bebop), Real Folk Blues (Cowboy Bebop). It was a lot of music. I also watched the movie "The Man From Nowhere", a fucking awesome south Korean drama. Go watch it. Now. It's available on Netflix. Rather, I had it on in the background for white noise. But it contributed.**

**I do not own the Avengers, any of the songs listed above, or "The Man From Nowhere".**

* * *

Steve took a deep breath as he stood outside the Workshop's door.

Tony had left without a word to any of them three weeks ago, returned four days ago, and had since then locked himself in his Workshop, wrapped in the embrace of his machines. Bruce couldn't get him to talk. Natasha couldn't get him to talk. Clint couldn't get him to talk. Thor couldn't get him to talk.

Tony was, for the first time, _completely silent_. And Steve was utterly terrified of what that meant.

When Tony left suddenly like that, it usually involved terrorist factions somewhere in the world. Normally it was the Middle East, but sometimes it was elsewhere. There had been absolutely no reports on Iron Man making an appearance in any country; he had dropped off the face of the Earth for about two and a half weeks. Usually, he was gone for a few days at a time, and managed to send them a note explaining if he was going to be gone for longer. So, for a good week and a half, the Avengers had been convinced Iron Man was either captured or dead.

But he had returned. Tony had taken off the suit, walked to the elevator, and returned to his workshop, refusing to acknowledge any of them. So in all actuality, the Avengers _still_ didn't know what had occurred during the two and a half weeks they had lost Tony. They could only assume he had been captured again, and had escaped on his own. Bruce, through a cursory examination, concluded that while there were a few wounds that needed treatment, Tony was otherwise okay. It had been an unspoken agreement to let Tony work through it and talk to them when he was ready, but Steve couldn't wait that long.

The nightmares were starting again. They had started about a week after Tony's disappearance, and refused to stop even after his return. Nightmares of Tony sinking in ice, of himself sinking in ice, of losing everyone in a battle, watching Tony get hurt, etc. His brain just kept coming up with more ways to torture him, and Tony locking himself up in the Workshop was not helping. At all. But then again, neither was Bruce's green tinged eyes when he confessed that, more than likely, some of the wounds had been torture-induced.

So as entirely selfish as it was, Steve needed to interact with Tony. Even if it was in a fight. He just needed the confirmation that Tony was back.

Steve took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself to be either ignored or, if he was lucky, bitched at by a very irate Anthony Stark.

"Override gerber sixty-one rain beta blue twenty." He said quickly, not wishing anyone to overhear, however unlikely that was.

JARVIS said nothing as the doors slid open, revealing an eerily quiet lab.

Steve stepped in, feeling a hiss of air as the doors closed behind him, and listened for any noise to give away Tony's position. A soft clatter to his left announced it quite clearly.

"Tony?" Steve asked, walking over. Tony ignored him, opting instead to work on the Iron Man helmet. Not to be disheartened, Steve stepped a little closer and braved the icy stillness that surrounded the other man. "Everyone's worried. We want to know what happened." He explained, leaning down on one arm on the desk.

Tony flinched and turned away, continuing to work on that damn helmet, his face giving away nothing, his posture stiff. Completely silent.

"...Tony, Bruce said some of those wounds could be consistent with torture. If you're going to ignore us, could you, at the very least, confirm that so we know a bit more than we do now?" Steve tried, attempting to catch Tony's eyes. Tony trailed his eyes away from Steve and focused completely on the helmet.

Steve stared at Tony a bit more, before turning and finding an empty bench to occupy.

He could wait.

He wouldn't be sleeping that night, anyways.

It was four hours later, three in the morning, until the mechanical voice of Tony's suit finally, _finally_, broke the quiet of the Workshop.

"...They were just kids."

That simple statement hissed through the air and stained the walls with it's bluntness.

Steve flinched, but didn't say anything. Not about the kids, not about the fact that Tony deemed it necessary to use the helmet to talk about this.

"Fucking _kids_." Tony's hands stilled where they had been tightening a nut on one of his gauntlets, "They were..."

There were a few moments of silence again. Steve stood up and walked over to Tony, placing a hand on his shoulder to ground him.

"Some town in Oregon. I don't even know." Tony sighed, taking off the gauntlet and letting it drop harshly to the table. Steve winced; usually Tony was much more careful with raw equipment like that.

"Some medical company was getting it's kicks out of stealing kids and using the employees as fake parents. They'd inject the kids with a disease, then experiment with cures until they got the right one."

Tony's shoulder shivered.

"God, Steve, some of them were fucking _vegetables_. I don't know how I didn't..."

Steve squeezed the shoulder lightly, offering silent support.

"They started focusing on forced mutations. Use kids without the mutant gene and then try to force it in them. Some of them took, most of them died."

The helmet let out a laugh nothing like Tony's and Tony's shoulders shook.

"Then they acted like it was a surprise when one the the kids-the oldest surviving one, a _fourteen year old_-mutated to be super smart, and started her own resistance. She made these nano-machines, they would fight the disease for you, keep you alive. Their primary protocol was '_survival of the host_'. It was pretty ingenious. It could heal wounds, to an extent. Became their immune system."

Tony stilled again, clenching his hands.

"Her favorite animal was a lion, you know? It showed. Her little '_personal touch_'. The survival mode of those machines mimicked certain characteristics. Claws, fangs, yellow eyes, elongated ears, growls, roars...it was pretty surreal. Very intimidating. Very efficient. Their hair would even change color to a sort of really pale blond. I'll never get over how _weird_ that was."

Tony paused again, gathering his thoughts, trying to figure out where to start, how to explain, how to not start rambling again.

"They had a shield around the town, it blocked signals from going in or out. Security at the perimeter. I got trapped. The company threw this pulse at me-I don't even...the suit disassembled midair. I was lucky to survive." he shook his head, clearly still not able to believe it.

Steve felt himself stiffen at the mention of the suit disassembling midair. That...that really wasn't going to help his nightmares. If anything, that would add fuel to the fire.

"I was the only adult on their side. I was all they had and...now they're dead. Every single _fucking_ one of them. They died. I promised I'd get them out. And I have no proof, and the company gets to fucking walk."

"Tony..." Steve sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Where to begin? "We all lose people under our command sometimes. It was a war zone; a small one, but a war zone nonetheless. You didn't have the suit, you had limited resources, and limited knowledge of the situation. You're not to blame."

"We had to go get my suit if we wanted to get out alive." Tony continued, acting as though Steve hadn't spoken. "We had to infiltrate the base. I was going to do it alone, but...they wouldn't stop following me. I had no choice. It wasn't like I could knock them out; they were fucking _cyborgs_."

Tony stopped again, and Steve let him. They stayed like that for awhile before Tony's hand found Steve's wrist and gripped it tight.

"There was an ambush. We lost half at the entrance. Half of what we had left on the way to the containment area. The rest when we got there. They were shielding me-acting as these human shields. I couldn't get them to stop. I couldn't...they wouldn't fucking _listen_, and they...why wouldn't..."

The grip got tighter, and in the back of his head, the part that wasn't paralyzed in fear and pity and concern for his friend, Steve found himself thanking whoever was listening that he was a super soldier; his wrist would have been broken otherwise.

"I got caught too, in the end." he confessed, much to Steve's building horror. "They knew I couldn't...they didn't care. They didn't want information. They just wanted to fuck with me, I guess. The leader of the kids-she wasn't as dead as I had thought she was. She saved me. Killed everyone else. I was on my way to the suit when I saw...he had a grenade. A fucking _grenade_. Who the fuck carries _grenades_ in a supposed _medical research facility_?"

Steve fought the impulse to squeeze any harder, fearing he would shatter Tony's shoulder if he did so.

"She was turned away, she couldn't read my lips, couldn't see my sign, I couldn't...if I had a fucking _voice_-!" Tony shuddered again as he tried to regain his composure. "So fucking useless. I couldn't...I just stood there and fucking _watched_."

Steve waited until he was sure Tony was as finished as he was going to be at the moment, before walking around to stand in front of him and remove the helmet, setting it on the desk. Tony's eyes stared resolutely at the floor, glancing up cautiously to look at Steve's face.

"It wasn't your fault. You did what you could. And if I, or anyone else in this tower, hears you blame yourself again, you may have to contend with six different lectures on how it isn't. But if that's what it takes to get it through your thick skull that it isn't your fault, so be it." Steve paused, hands on both of Tony's shoulders, watching his face to see if it got through.

'_How would you be able to hear me, genius? I can't talk._' Tony signed, his face twisting into anger at himself. At the world. At anything, really.

"Tony, you never shut up." Steve supplied bluntly, staring him dead in the eyes. "Your face, your signing, your body language, your actions-you're louder without the helmet, honestly."

Tony shifted, looking at the ground again.

'_...That was so fucking sappy._' His face supplied when he looked up, a little gratitude leaking through his eyes. Steve grinned. Tony was back, he was no longer silent.

'_Getting sentimental, Grandfather Ice?_' Tony signed, his posture more relaxed than it had been in days.

"More than you can imagine. I'm sleeping on your couch down here." Steve laughed, stretching out the kinks and heading towards said furniture item.

He heard an indignant "Tch!" from behind him, but Steve ignored it as he collapsed on the couch and faced the ceiling.

A soft tapping on the desk drew his attention back to Tony, who looked tired, but better than he had in days.

'_Thanks, man._'

"Anytime. Also, if you tell Natasha the name of the company, she could probably dig up something."

'_I'll tell her at breakfast tomorrow. I want waffles. Are they on the menu?_'

"Only if you let Bruce examine your injuries and actually cooperate this time."

'_Fine. You worry too much, old man._'

"Tony, we all worry when it comes to you."

'_...I'll let Green look me over again._'

"Thank you. Goodnight."

'_Night, Ice._'


	5. Dragons, Loki, and Justin Hammer, Oh My!

**So. Music: Guns N Roses, Welcome to The Jungle; AC/DC, Shoot to Thrill, Thunderstruck, Highway to Hell; Gintama, OST 10; Cowboy Bebop, Call Me, Call Me; and Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata [remix].**

**Also.**

**STEVE FEELS, GUYS. LOTS OF FUCKING STEVE FEELS. I KEEP TELLING MY BRAIN NO, NO STONY. BUT MY BRAIN KEEPS MAKING IT LEAK THROUGH. FUCK YOU BRAIN. DO AS I SAY.**

**Fuck it, it's a fucking pre-slash if you want. Or it could be a super Bro-love fest if you're allergic to that shit. BUT NO MORE STONY FEELS, PRE-SLASH OR SLASH, GUYS. (Unless you ask very, very nicely. Because I will admit, this was all angsty and interesting to write.)**

**I do not own the Avengers.**

* * *

"_Widow_! It's a fucking _dragon_!"

"Hawkeye, _why do you sound so happy about this_? Do we _need_ to have another talk?"

"Hey guys! Do you think if I asked _really_ nicely, it'd pull a Dragonheart for me?"

"Iron Man, I don't understand that reference, but you are _not_ going to try to strike up a conversation with it."

"A worthy adversary! Come, fire beast! We shall have a glorious battle!"

"Hulk _smash_ big fire ball!"

Iron Man laughed and flew around the eighty story tall dragon made of pure fire.

"That's the spirit, big guy!"

Captain America frowned and used his shield to block a piece of sky-scraper and tried to think of a way to take down the dragon. He came up with nothing.

"Thor?" he asked, watching in dismay as Hulk burned himself trying to smash the dragon's feet while Hawkeye tried to shoot it in the eye with his arrows, laughing with glee like a true idiot and Iron Man taunted and teased the huge animal by flying circles around it's head.

"Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. Brother?"

"Why did Loki decide to make a giant dragon today?"

"I cannot say. Perhaps he is feeling happy." Thor hummed, looking pretty ecstatic himself.

"This is the best. Birthday party. Ever." Hawkeye laughed breathlessly, jumping off of the building with abandon and landing on Hulk's back. "Thor, your birthday's are now my favorite days of _life_."

"Challenge accepted." Iron Man said, nodding to Hawkeye as he rocketed past him. "In the meantime, can this thing even fly?"

As if in response to that, the dragon launched itself after him, almost snapping off his feet.

"Run Bitch! _Run_!" Hawkeye crowed gleefully, finding the whole thing absolutely hilarious. Then again, he'd had about eight mugs of Asguardian Ale, and was pretty wasted. Even if it didn't effect his aim, it _did_ effect his judgment.

"Banner say try cold Nyt-row." Hulk supplied, picking up the wasted Hawkeye off of his back and dropping him on the ground.

"Nyt-row?" Iron Man asked, weaving between buildings in an attempt to make it tangle in itself. It didn't work and Iron Man had to throw himself through four buildings to escape the trail of fire the thing spit at him. "You mean Nitro? Frozen Nitrogen? Hang on, let me call up a favor."

Captain America-no, this was all Steve at this point-slapped his hand over his face when he heard the ringing of someone using the secure Avengers channel to make a phone call.

"...Hello?" Reed Richards voice answered, sounding weary.

"Hey there, Richy Boy! How much frozen Nitro you got?" Iron Man asked cheerfully, flying in the direction of Reed's home.

"Does this have something to do with that giant ball of fire? I thought it was Johnny. I have enough Nitro, but it's in my storage facili-_Oh my God is that a dragon_?"

"Thanks man! I'll just head over there!"

"No! Don't you dare! I can't afford to pay for that entire building!"

"Too late! Garage 42256, right?"

"_Damn it_ Tony!"

"I am so sorry about this, Reed." Steve apologized, sounding miserable.

"Blow the fucker up!" Clint howled from his place on the ground. Hulk sat down next to him, pouting and looking generally put out. Natasha patted Hulk on the back in sympathy, looking sad for the Jolly Green Giant.

"Allow me to assist, Man of Iron!" Thor roared, taking off after Tony and the dragon.

"_Why_ are all of you out to get me?" Reed moaned, sounding like he was about to cry.

Steve was about to respond, but a rather large explosion, followed by lightning and a giant cloud of ice interrupted him.

On the other line, he could have sworn he heard a tiny sob come from Reed.

"We do it because we _love_ fucking with you." Iron Man's voice said through their headsets.

"_No we do not_! Reed, that isn't true, he's just being a jerk-" Steve tried to say, but a soft click announced that Reed had hung up.

"That was a glorious and invigorating battle! There shall be songs of this feat for many years to come!" Thor boomed as he landed next to Steve.

"True that. Hey, who want's pizza? That sounds like a perfect way to end the day, and-_holy shit_!"

"Tony?" Steve asked, straightening up as the rest of the Avengers stood up again. "Tony what's wrong?"

"..._Hey_ there, Loki bear!" was giggled nervously through the comm system, and suddenly the Avengers were moving as one to Tony's location. Hawkeye was surprisingly nimble for someone so wasted.

"Mister Stark." Loki's amused, snide voice slid through their comms and into their ears, "That was...creative. I have need of you. Stop your foolishness and come with me."

"So do a lot of other people, but the nice thing about that? I can say no."

There was a sound of a repulsor firing, and they caught a flash before both Tony and Loki vanished.

Steve, for all of Tony's antics and general annoyance, and despite all the crap he had pulled that day, felt like someone had just wrapped an ice noose around his neck when it sank in that _Loki had Tony_.

* * *

They spent the rest of that day and most of the next day searching.

Hawkeye was amazingly proficient even with a massive hangover. But the team didn't have a whole lot of time to linger on that. Bruce was still Hulked out, and refused to shrink back down until they had Tony. Black Widow had vanished to 'talk to her contacts', whatever that meant. Hawkeye had hid in the vents all night, and appeared to be attempting to join Cirque Du Soleil with as many acrobatic stunts he was pulling to get from one building to the other. Thor was doing his best to keep his temper in check, as a thunderstorm would not help matters. At all. Agent Coulson had been on his phone the entire time, and every time he called someone new, it involved a different language. And Steve? Steve was desperately trying to function as Captain America, even though he was far too worried to _actually_ slip into his superhero persona.

It was four in the afternoon, and they had been out since six in the morning. Steve hadn't slept all that well, none of them had. In all honesty, Steve hadn't slept at all. Every time he closed his eyes, his subconscious would scream at him '_Tony is dead!_'; '_You've failed him!_'; '_This is your fault!_'; '_Just like Bucky, you let him die too._'; and possibly the longest, most painful one, the one that had made him make up his mind about giving up sleep all together, was; '_Tony is gone, and you will never see him again. You will never see his face. Never see his smile. Never have another conversation with him. Never patch him up. Tony is gone, you let Loki take him, and it's entirely your fault._'

Steve's gut clenched painfully as he remembered his own thoughts, and he had to fight down the urge to vomit right there, on the street corner, in front of S.H.I.E.L.D. employees. It was odd; only Tony was able to distract him enough that he'd slip up on his duties; but Steve just chalked that down to the fact that, while they _had_ had a rocky start, Tony was, for all intents and purposes, his best friend.

And Steve _knew_ he looked terrible; the circles under his eyes, the shaking hands, the mild stubble on his chin-but he couldn't bring himself to care. Instead, he straightened up, switched his shield from one hand to the other, and resolutely continued the search; he and Tony had _just_ started to get along, and he _refused_ to let their just beginning friendship be taken away from him.

But still.

It was hard, not to just curl up in the dirt and pretend the whole thing was just another nightmare.

"Captain!" Widow cried through the comm, her voice stopping those thoughts and calling him back to reality, "Tony's tracker just went off! He's in the tower!"

Steve didn't remember leaving the street he was searching, he just knew that suddenly he was halfway there and _it wasn't fast enough_ because Tony could be hurt or cursed or dead and why wasn't the elevator moving faster?

He honestly didn't know when Natasha and Clint had joined him, flanking his sides, offering their silent support despite the fact that they were just as anxious, but he was grateful for it.

As the elevator reached the living area, they all rushed out of it...and were met with what appeared to be Tony sleeping peacefully on the couch, out of the Iron Man suit, which was laying on the floor, both of them unharmed.

"_Tony_!" Steve hissed, rushing to Tony's side and checking his pulse while Natasha and Clint went over the room for threats, "Tony? C'mon, _wake up_. Tony, please, you have to-"

Steve was interrupted by Tony's callused hand smacking over his mouth and a bleary, one eyed glare that clearly screamed '_Shut the fuck up or I will fucking _make_ you_'.

"You..." Steve murmured into the hand over his mouth, his fingers still wrapped around Tony's other wrist, measuring the beats of Tony's pulse. "_You_..."

And suddenly, Steve was slightly pissed. Pissed that Tony didn't seem to care what the team had gone through, what _he_ had gone through. Pissed that Loki had taken Tony at all. Pissed that Tony got under his skin in a way that none of the others could.

However, it was gone in a second.

It all evaporated when Natasha forced Tony to look at her and asked one question. One simple question that would explain Tony's complete disregard for the others, because even he wasn't that tactless. One question that Steve, too caught up in himself, had neglected to even consider asking.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Tony frowned and took his hand off of Steve's mouth and held out a finger.

'_One second._'

Letting out an almost soundless yawn, Tony stood up, stretched, steadied himself on Steve's shoulder, and walked to the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee.

Steve, Clint, and Natasha, not knowing what else to do, followed him.

"Tony, what did Loki want?" Steve heard himself blurt, unable to take the waiting any longer.

Tony twitched, faced Steve with a concerned look in his eye, then straightened, and blinked as the previous day came back. The face he made said it all.

_'Oh. Yeah. Oops._'

"S.H.I.E.L.D. Brother Anthony!" Thor boomed as he broke the kitchen door and bodily lifted Tony from the floor, concern bleeding from his face. "Are you well? What has my brother done to you?"

Tony, arms pinned to his sides, could not answer.

Then Hulk joined the fray, and decided that the _only_ place to check if Tony was alright was outside, on the roof of a building four blocks away. Tony, having the best rapport with the Green Giant, knew better than to protest, and instead allowed Hulk to check him over the best way Hulk knew how.

By the time Hulk had decided that Tony was okay and Bruce had come back to ensure it, Thor had given Natasha, Clint, and Steve a lift to the building.

"Now can you tell us what happened?" Natasha asked dryly, arms crossed and eyes promising pain if he didn't.

"Yes, for what reason did my brother request your presence?" Thor agreed, hefting Mjölner from hand to hand.

'_Honestly?_' Tony asked, looking like he himself didn't really believe what had happened, '_He wanted me to save the world. It was weird._'

The team looked at one another briefly, then looked back at Tony.

"...Care to elaborate?" Clint asked, leaning forward.

'_Right. So. Silver Tongue took me to a desert. I was thinking he was going to make me relive the incident that gave me my Battery, but he showed me this hidden tech building running on solar power._'

Tony paused and glanced up at them all, sardonic amusement written all over his face.

'_Hammer Industries. I mean, really? How is Hammer still managing to work? His stuff is terrible._'

"Focus, Tony." Bruce sighed, prodding his back for any kidney damage or bruises.

'_Fine. So, Silver Tongue tells me to destroy the entire building, or at least any trace of what it's working on. I wanted to know why, but he wouldn't tell me. Eventually, he gave into my good looks and charm. Everyone does._'

"You mean that you persisted in your questioning until he surrendered and told you his reasons." Thor translated, nodding his head appreciatively. Allspeak was very handy indeed.

'_No. Yes. Who cares? He told me that he wanted me to destroy it because it would be hard to rule a world that no longer exists, and he himself couldn't do it because he's a bad guy and that would refelct badly on him with other bad guys. Basically, Hammer was going to end the entire planet if I didn't destroy his work._'

Tony paused, a delighted smile crossing his features as he remembered destroying the Hammer Industries Compound.

'_I do believe that that is the only order I have ever taken, or ever will take, and gladly so, from a bad guy. Seriously. That makes my list of the most fun things I have ever done in my life._'

"I suppose I should be concerned?" Phil's voice asked from the side, making them all jump. No one had heard him come up. "You're already on our watch list, Stark. It would be in your best interest to never repeat that you 'gladly followed a villains orders' in front of Fury."

The team remained frozen until their handler had disappeared back down the flight of stairs from which he had, apparently, entered.

'_I am slightly concerned._' Tony's expression said as he stood up and brushed himself off. '_So. Who wants to tell me how pissed off Rubber was when Thor and I destroyed his storage unit, and the facility with it?_'

And just like that, Tony was back.


	6. Some Down Time, yo

**It has been quite awhile, my duckies! Did you have a nice Christmas? I did. And I hope you did to. If you didn't, pretend like you did. **

**Music: Los Monjes Budistas, Urban Buddhism; Howard Shore, Concerning Hobbits.**

**This is really fucking short, gaiz, but I just wanted to write a team fluff piece. With Hulk. Because Hulk.**

**I do not own Avengers nor do I own Adventure/Marshall Time.**

* * *

When Steve came home after a long, _long_ day of listening to Fury bitch about Tony and Clint's latest escapade (Something about screaming inappropriate sex-based obscenities at each other during a mission together and unnecessary property damage because they had thought it a good idea to bring Hulk along) he was exhausted and ready to lay down a two hour long speech of ethics and sexual harassment.

"Jarvis, where's Tony?" he asked, leaning against the elevator wall and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Sir is resting in the living area; it _was _a rather tiring day for him." JARVIS intoned quietly as the door opened. Steve nodded his thanks and walked out towards the heart of Fury's issues.

However, as Steve stepped into the room and took a deep breath to begin his rant, he froze in place.

Hulk was sitting cross-legged in front of the TV, the couch having been moved to make room, with Clint sitting on his right shoulder and using his head as an armrest, and Tony draped across the giant's lap, drooling a puddle onto Hulk's knee. Noticing Steve's presence, Hulk put a finger to his lips in warning before turning back to the TV. That Clint hadn't moved at all informed Steve that he, too, was asleep, just with his eyes open.

"Jarvis?" Steve whispered, having lost the heart to yell at them. "What was so tiring about that mission?"

"The only information I am allowed to divulge is that it took place in Asia, Sir." JARVIS answered quietly, mindful of the sleeping Avengers. Steve frowned; usually JARVIS could give a bit more information than that.

"Sand." Hulk grumbled suddenly, as quietly as he could. Which was still rather loud, but didn't wake up the overgrown children who had decided he was a green bunk bed. "Caves. Tony pretend be bait. Hawk and Tony yell. Hulk smash all-save Tony and Hawk."

Steve fought down another bout of irrational anger and sighed. Hulk had saved them, and he would normally give Tony a talk about self-sacrifice, but he had the feeling that others had already done that. In the meantime, it was _far_ easier to wander over to the couch and recline on it, nearly taking over the whole thing as he watched some mindless cartoons with Hulk. It had been a very long day of being used as Fury's verbal punching bag.

"...Hulk?" Steve asked, receiving a grunt in response. "Why are you still...Hulk?"

"Hulk fave shows on." he rumbled, as though that explained everything. And honestly? It probably did.

Three episodes later he noticed that, at some point, Natasha had curled up at the end of the couch and was watching the TV intently, eating ice cream out of the carton the Thor was holding as he sat on the floor with his back to the couch. The Thunder God had the capability to be silent when he wanted. Steve smiled a little and started to turn his attention to the TV again before Coulson walked in, paused, looked at all of them, sighed, and wandered over to the armchair to settle himself in and do his paperwork, using the moved coffee table as a substitute for his regular desk.

"I'm ordering pizza," their handler announced to no one in particular as he tapped away on one of the holographic screens. "And you have the rest of today and tomorrow off. The Fantastic Four can handle things for one day. _Hopefully_."

The Avengers who were awake gave various, side-minded forms of agreement to this plan.

It had been a long week of almost nonstop fighting and personal, individual missions, and they were all too happy to shove the responsibility off on the Fantastic Four or even the X-Men for a day.

In the meantime, they were perfectly content to watch cheesy cartoons about a young woman wearing a bunny hat, her stretchy cat, and some floating vampire go on adventures that made little to no sense.


End file.
